Sparks Leading up to Flames
by BestINeverHad
Summary: thisblogmighthurt. requested a Derek Hale pre-fire, growing up fic. This is what I came up with. I hope you like it, and feel free to leave me prompts in the future! :)


**November 1****st****, 2001. **

Derek's first shift happens when he's nine years old, two years premature of the age for born werewolves' first shifts. It's completely unexpected and definitely 100% provoked by Laura.

"Laura, give me my ball!" He shrieks, stomping angrily. Laura cackles at him and throws the ball at the wall, using her supernatural speed to get to it before he does yet again and throw it up in the air and catch it right in front of his face with a smug little smirk on her face. She's a bit of a bully, Derek thinks, and she loves to flaunt her powers in front of him because he hasn't yet had his first shift and she had hers two years ago. Derek thinks she's a typical thirteen year old, because all the thirteen year olds he's seen act exactly the same way: cocky, self-involved, invincible because they're finally classed as teenagers, oblivious to everything but proving themselves as responsible enough to handle adult stuff like drinking and independence. Laura is exactly like them – and she can't even get drunk unless she gets her hands on some wolfsbane, which, so not happening, so Derek would love to know why she's so rapt by the idea of getting a taste of beer.

Maybe when he's her age, he'll understand. For now though, all he cares about is his basketball... and perhaps find some way to get back at her. Since Laura's blossom of supernatural abilities, revenge has been an extremely difficult thing. Before her first shift, Derek would pinch or scratch; his mother would scold him and tell him to "stop being peevish, Derek". It took him two years to figure out the best way of getting back at her now was to get her into trouble so she couldn't see her friends or to read her diary entries to Cora or Uncle Peter.

"Come on, little bro," Laura taunts him, fangs glinting in the sunlight, "Get it off me if you can."

For some reason, Derek feels incredibly angry. Not his usual angry, but a deep rooted rage that makes his skin burn and his teeth hurt and his fingers tingle, his vision go a little blurry. He's so angry that his blood feels like it's boiling, and then all of a sudden he's in the air and his basketball is hooked to the end of his fingers, burst, and he lands on the ground with a small thud and a growl, and he's breathing hard.

Laura stares at him in shock before beaming and running off calling for their mother, while all Derek can think is how incredibly angry he is. He chases after her, mind set firmly in rage mode. Cora shrieks when she sees him, only seven years old and excited by anyone in her family who can sprout claws and fangs and have a fury face. She chases after him like an excitable puppy, while Derek sprints on all fours after Laura, growling and snarling, while Laura herself is joyfully hollering as she runs away from him to the safety of their parents. It's all very cartoonish from an outsider's perspective.

Talia is wide-eyed and a mixture of pleased, proud and incredibly annoyed. Derek's dead set on ripping Laura to shreds: furry cheeks, golden eyes, elongated fangs, and sharp little claws – the entire lot. Cora is unaware of the potential danger and chasing the two betas like a wolf chasing a rabbit, and their father, David, is doing nothing to help her.

She roars, letting her eyes bleed red and her fangs elongate. Everything stops.

Derek shrinks back into the corner like a wounded puppy, Laura drops to her butt and sits on the floor with her neck bared, and Cora begins crying. It's somehow more chaotic from there on.

A few hours later, after having "the werewolf talk" – a basic recap of what Derek already knows, plus bits he didn't know like how to find an anchor and that there's a human in the school that he can go to if he loses control called Mrs. Stilinski who knows about the Hale family and pack, as well as a little advice – Derek overhears a conversation between his mother and Dr. Deaton, their emissary. It's disconcerting at first, because he knows they're on the other side of the house, but suddenly he can hear it all. Nosy as a nine year old is, he listens in, and only half understands what's being said.

"He's like you, Talia," Dr. Deaton is saying, and he sounds... happy, in a secondary sort of way, "Eventually he'll be able to shift fully, just like you."

"Oh, this is wonderful," His mother gushes, "Do you think control will be easier for him? He has a bit of a temper; I worry."

"I wouldn't say control will be easier for him, just faster. He'll evolve after puberty, I think."

"Does this cause any complications within the hierarchy and our allies?"

"Talia, there's no reason to worry. You're not overtaking anybody all of a sudden, so you're not threatening anybody; the Hale pack is already the most established and most respected. And even if it weren't, there'd still be no reason to worry. Having a full shift beta would only cause jealousy among those unfriendly, and you are all well-liked. Besides, I don't think there's anybody idiotic enough to challenge a full shift alpha and her pack, especially by way of threatening your son."

"That's good," His mother breathes a sigh of relief.

"Indeed," Deaton agrees, "I'll be back next week to check on him."

"Thank you, Alan."

"It's not a problem, Alpha Hale. Derek will be very strong."

**December 25****th****, 2001.**

Christmas day brings its own kind of challenges; the first one is getting a nine year old with very sketchy control to slow down and not claw through all of his presents before his parents can even get pictures of him with his presents.

Laura is far more reserved, though still restless, smiling brightly at the camera with each present in turn, brandishing colourfully wrapped shapes like trophies. David accidentally uses the flash on one of the images, and Laura huffs impatiently as she waits for her father to delete the lens-flared image and take another so she can finally rip into the gift.

As for Talia, well, she manages a picture of Derek with all of his presents behind him, a big smile on his face, a picture of him tearing through the paper of one gift to reveal a Nintendo GameCube, and a picture of him rolling around with a new baseball through a mountain of wrapping paper; after that, she gives up.

Cora is delighted by her fluffy toys, new clothes and Bratz dolls. Derek is in love with his baseball more-so than his new shoes and his GameCube, which surprises no one, though he loves all of his gifts. And Laura immediately puts her leather jacket on over her pyjamas the moment she sees it, and then spends the next half an hour obsessing over her new make-up and her guitar.

Dinner is extraordinarily eventful too, with Derek shifting twice over the course of the meal, Peter pressing a round, flat talisman with a triskelion on the front into his palm and forcing him to focus and repeat the "Alpha, Beta, Omega" mantra under his breath and calm down. Really, it's a trinket; but the kids don't have to know that. Belief is a powerful thing. It's the fuel of Sparks and vital in young werewolves.

Overall, however, it's a good day, and it finishes with the entire pack, not just family, spread out across the living room watching Monsters, Inc with full bellies and the warmth of the fire making everyone's cheeks a little rosy.

Talia, David, Laura and Cora are cuddled together on the sofa, with Peter, his wife, Julia, and their two kids, Malia and Liam, at their feet. On Peter's lap is Derek, who's half asleep. Next to the Christmas tree, David's brother Tom sits with his son, Cory; his wife died two years ago after some hunters broke the code. The non-family members of the pack are scattered across the middle of the room. Jack sits against the coffee table with his girlfriend, Alicia, resting her head in his lap, and at her feet, her human sister, Marie, is lying on her side and plucking at the carpet while she watches the film. Craig is slumped against Jonathon, who's leaning against the chair that his cousin Sam is asleep on. Everybody is cosy and content, and Talia smiles and thinks about their future, how bright and hopeful it looks to be.

**April 9****th****, 2003.**

Talia and David take the three kids away to visit London for a week in celebration of Easter; they leave on the Monday to leave late on Easter Sunday. Derek throws up on the plane ride three times, he works himself up so much, and Laura laughs for at least ten minutes every time. Cora gets moody and irritated because she's tired and their noise is keeping her awake. Talia buries her face in her hands, embarrassed by her chaotic children. David is a Zen as ever and simply just smiles and pulls her into his side when she asks him how he remains so calm and unaffected.

They stay in a hotel in Camden, and there's a Camden market on. Of course, Laura insists that they all go. And as it turns out, Camden market is an enjoyable experience for the whole family. Derek winds up with a pair of Converse high tops that have only been worn once before yet are three times less expensive than the usual brand price, a leather jacket and a new school bag.

Laura goes crazy in the retro shop and buys herself some bangles and wristbands as well as a funky clock for her bedroom wall, a vinyl and a polka dot dress. She also raids the Mod/Ska store and buys herself a backpack with Madness on it and a Union Jack flag that once belonged to the back of a Mod moped.

Cora is extremely pleased with her Tom and Jerry toys and her new headbands and hairclips.

Talia may or may not indulge herself in some boxes of teabags and a new coat; David may or may not have a little fanboy freak out when he sees all the Pink Floyd merchandise.

The day after that, they head to visit the main attractions, like the London Eye and the Tower of London. They take a lot of pictures, Derek nearly falls over the side of a bridge, and Cora starts saying "bloody hell" a lot because she thinks it's funny. Talia scolds her each time, knowing it's mild cuss language that nine year olds shouldn't be saying, but eventually gives up when Derek joins in and threatens to teach Cora the word "twat". He gets a smack of that one, but she lets them both continue saying bloody hell so long as they promise not to overuse it or say it in any indoor places.

For lunch, they go to a cafe and order tea and crumpets to be true tourists; they're surprisingly nice, and Talia finds herself vowing to buy a large packet of crumpets on Sunday from the airport to take home for the pack.

On Wednesday, they take a boat out across the Thames and have a picnic under the spring sunshine while trying to keep their drinks upright through the bobbing. Afterwards they go to the theatre and watch a random production. It's quite good, and Cora cackles about their accents while Derek and Laura watch enraptured from the edge of their seats.

Thursday is a day of relaxation, wandering and appreciating the surprising number of parks and green areas in this industrial capital city. They come across another pack and make good with the alpha and her mate, forming some foreign allies. The pack children play on the swing sets and race each other up and down trees. Luckily, there aren't many people around. The children can play quite happily.

They go to the Madame Tussauds wax museum on Friday and Laura poses by a sculpture of The Beatles with Derek sitting on her feet and Cora on his shoulders.

Saturday night brings with it a random firework display, so earplugs intact the family goes and watches as beautiful, bright explosions expand across the black canvas of night sky. There are oohs, ahs, and wows as the impressive display erupts into pictures and messages towards the end. Derek loudly exclaims that the smiley faces are his favourite, while fifteen year old crushing Laura swoons at the hearts, and Cora just likes the flashing colours.

On Sunday, they go out for a meal then they go to an open church. Their family isn't exactly religious, but they practice the holidays. After paying their respects to the crucifix, they all go back to the hotel to gorge on chocolate eggs and bunnies. David makes an awfully distasteful yet somehow amusing quip about wolves eating rabbits, and they watch TV until it's time to pack up and make their way to the airport again.

In all, it's an extremely successful week.

**September 26****th****, 2006.**

On his fourteenth birthday, Derek meets a girl. Her name is Paige, and Derek comes home from school that day smelling of hormones and happiness, a big grin on his face.

Peter sits stoically in the corner, trying to be pleased for his little nephew but still bitter about his wife's death last year, after a human who discovered his wife's true nature went and blabbed to her family who happened to be in close ties with the Argents. The Hale family has never liked Gerard Argent in the first place.

"Just be careful, Derek," Talia warns the boy, but smiles brightly at him. In response, he beams up at her, naive and engulfed by puppy love.

"I will, mom, I promise," He insists, practically bursting with energy; his eyes light up, sparkling beta gold, just for a moment, before fading back into that beautiful pale mix of hazel, green and blue.

**November 15****th****, 2006.**

"You know, if she's human, then she won't accept you. She's not pack; she'll tell someone and get you killed. It's what they all do. If you wanna stay with her, have her changed. It's the only way, Derek. You know she'll find out eventually; they always do, when we get close to them."

Derek doesn't like the sound of that, but the thought, the possibility, plagues him every night in his dreams. All sorts of different scenarios with all sorts of different consequences play out in his head, some good and some bad. What if his Uncle Peter is right though? What if Paige hates him when she finds out? It'll happen, Derek knows it will. And Peter's wife was killed because of someone she thought to be a friend, so what's stopping Paige from having Derek killed when she finds out what he is and doesn't like it?

**November 23****rd****, 2006.**

"You knew, and you still liked me?"

"I loved you, idiot."

Talia hears Derek's scream before she feels his anguish, before she becomes crippled with the overwhelming stench of heartbreak. Without another thought, she runs; when she finds Derek, her own heart breaks.

Sitting there with his lifeless first love in his arms, Derek's tear streaked face crumples in agony as he screams again, broken and desperate and so, so pained, so very distressed. It makes her gut wrench, her heart pound, and tears prick at her eyes; but she steels herself and approaches him.

He knows she's there, but he won't open his eyes. He's shaking, quivering, absolutely terrified. It rips something from her. Gently, she tilts his chin up towards her and looks at his face directly.

"My eyes," He chokes, "They're different."

"They're still beautiful," Talia whispers, "Just like the rest of you."

When Derek opens his eyes, they flare an electric blue. Talia wraps him in her arms and respectfully doesn't touch Paige's cooling body.

**November 24****th****,****2006.**

Peter and Talia fight. Talia breaks his leg and roars him into submission.

Peter sulks away and returns a week later, regretful and embarrassed and ashamed. Derek doesn't speak to him. In fact, Derek doesn't speak to anybody much anymore. He barely leaves his room.

At dinner, Peter tries to apologise to Derek. The boy, though, is changed. He lets his eyes flare that icy blue colour and growls Peter into submission; it shocks everybody, and causes a lot of confusion. A fourteen year old beta should not be capable of forcing an older, stronger beta into submission.

Talia approaches Derek with the idea of therapy. Derek glares and slams his bedroom door in her face.

It takes months for Derek stop stay outside of his bedroom for more than ten minutes, and tentatively he starts to open up a little more again. Derek's anchor is unstable now with a dollop of trust issues to top it all off; his anchor is a loose tether of indecision, swaying between trusting in his own pack to anchor him and trusting in himself. Lately, Derek doesn't seem to even trust himself, never mind the pack. It's not a personal thing, Talia knows; it's just that Peter is a part of the pack still and Peter betrayed Derek's trust and persuaded him into a decision that killed his first love and changed his eyes. Yet despite hating Peter for this, knowing that Peter is ultimately to lame, Derek still blames himself for what happened to Paige, and so while he's opening up a little, he's not the same Derek he used to be.

Some nights, David will hold Talia as she cries for the boy her son used to be: bright, hopeful, happy, young and naive. Now, her boy is jaded, untrusting and riddled with guilt and self-doubt. She loves him all the same, but wishes he weren't the way he is.

**May 6****th****, 2007.**

Puberty hits Derek like a freight train, dumping all of its good on top of him and making him the most unpredictable little bastard Talia has ever known.

It started off with physical changes just a month before. All of a sudden, Derek had woken up one day and Talia had been greeted by a half naked Derek holding up a pair of jeans and complaining about them being too short. They'd gone shopping, and Talia had wondered how she hadn't noticed Derek's rapidly increasing height until now. It was almost as if it had happened overnight, her boy now the same height as her when she could have sworn he'd been up to her shoulder mere days ago. And Talia is a tall woman, 5'8".

But now, the mental and emotional effects of puberty have caught up with Derek too. His shoulders are broadening, filling out, his chest becoming defined, and he's getting whiskers of stubble on his chin; with this, however, comes acne, which makes Derek the moodiest fucker in the world. He constantly groans about the zits on his face, saying how he "thought being a werewolf meant no acne" and how irritating and sore spots could be. While Talia is glad that Derek is now focussed on his growth and other things like taking pride in his wardrobe and starting to move out all the childish crap from his bedroom, rather than sinking further and further into that dark depression, she can't help being irritated by his constant whining. He doesn't even have that many; he's got a couple of pimples on his chin, a spot on his temple and a small zit on his forehead.

However, a fourteen year old growing Derek means that Laura, now eighteen and mostly mature, is fully prepared to take her little brother under her wing. Laura attends college now, a two hour drive away from home; but she comes home at the weekends and during breaks, and she'll take Derek out with her, or she'll meet up with her friends and the lot of them will meet Derek and his friends.

Talia notices that despite Derek's lack of emotional availability and his perpetual scowl (really, she doesn't know when his eyebrows got that thick either) he's extremely popular, and it's not as if that's surprising. He's the captain of the basketball team and a co-captain in lacrosse, and he plays for a minor league baseball team the weekends. He's tall and getting taller, and when he left the bathroom yesterday in nothing but a towel she'd had to take a moment to wonder when the hell it was that her skinny, gangly little boy had started to become defined and muscular.

Two things that are unchanging, however, are his bunny teeth and his poky ears.

His mood swings are just awful, and more often than not Talia finds herself having to use her authority to get him to back down from fights with Cory. Cory is sixteen, so he's also struggling with teenage angst, which means that he and Derek clash a lot, and while he's the older one, Derek is the same height as him and stronger. Derek's strength reminds Talia of last year when Derek forced his Uncle into submission, and of Deaton some years ago telling her that Derek would grow to be strong.

Today, Derek is depressed. Unfortunately, this isn't solely a teenage angst thing. This is a Derek thing that came about last year, when he had to end his girlfriend's suffering; the teenage angst makes it a hell of a lot worse though.

Derek listens to a lot of a band called Placebo, and when Talia asks him what song he's listening to right now he looks at her and tells her he's listening to "Teenage Angst" – ironically. She doesn't know where his humour comes from; he's sarcastic and as dry as the Sahara.

Then she hears Peter somewhere else in the house say to someone, "I thought Halloween was over, go put some makeup on," in a very snarky voice, and then hears Laura's equally snarky voice as she says, "Oh, how funny. Live at the Apollo called, they've got a place for a warm up act that'll make the rest of the comedians seem funnier," and finds that, actually, she isn't under any confusion anymore.

It's been a little over five months, but after Derek forced Peter into submission the older beta spent two months grovelling and then saved Derek's ass in a fight against a very old vampire, and the two reconstructed a bond. Peter found Derek a solid anchor: anger. Talia wishes it could be something else, but no matter what now her baby boy will always be tainted by that first betrayal, that first heartbreak, that first trauma. He's still angry, understandably, and if anger is what keeps him from going feral then Talia supposes she'll have to deal with it. She just wants Derek to find happiness, but she knows how irrational that is, how impossible it is. It's not even been half a year since Derek lost Paige yet; a bad break up, they say, takes a year to get over anyway. God knows what Derek must feel.

Talia sits down on Derek's bed next to him, and he stubbornly doesn't lean into her space or give anything away. Somewhere along the line, Derek learned to mask his emotions and control his heartbeat too, and she wonders what else she's missed of her boy while she's been busy dealing with the new smaller children in the pack and making allies with the new pack in town.

"I'll always be your alpha, but I'll always be your mother first, and I will always, always love you, no matter what you do, who you see, or how you behave. If you want to cry, it won't make me love you any less or think that you're weak, Derek. That's not how pack works; that's not how family works."

For the first time in five months, Derek lets go. His MP3 player gets pushed aside and he clings to his mother like a scared pup in need of its mother's protection. He cries for hours, sobs and wretches and hiccups; he whimpers how much he misses her, how much he wishes he hadn't been a stupid kid, how much he wants to hurt Peter, and cries harder with vehement protests when Talia tries to tell him it's not his fault, that it's never been his fault.

"It was!" He stutters, voice cracking, "It was both our faults." Talia can hear Peter's heartbeat nearby, knows that he's listening in.

Talia doesn't know why she expected Derek to be any brighter the next day just because he'd let so much out; she doesn't know what she'd been hoping for, doesn't know why she was so stupid to get hopeful over what was obviously never going to happen. If anything, Derek seems more closed off than before, like he's embarrassed or ashamed, and he runs out of the door without breakfast when Cora calls to say she's ready for school so he can walk her there and then get to his own classes.

**June 18****th****, 2007.**

Derek meets Mrs. Stilinski in the afternoon on a hot day in June when his control slips and he nearly wolfs out in front of the entirety of the basketball team. He remembers what his mother told him when he was a kid, about the Sheriff's wife in one of the school offices working as a counsellor who knows about werewolves and the supernatural, who's a Spark herself, and offers werewolves a place to calm down when things get difficult.

Derek races to her office, heartbeat tripping over itself, it beats that hard and that fast, and tumbles through the door in one ungraceful heap and slams it shut with his entire body, sliding down to the floor and hyperventilating into his knees.

"Breathe, Derek," A soft, gentle voice coaxes. It must be Mrs. Stilinski; Derek didn't look when he came in, but she knows his name and she's in the office so it must be her. "C'mon, you're okay; you're in a safe environment. Just breathe," She tells him, and places a hand on his shoulder, the crazy woman. Touch does calm werewolves however; much like wolves, they're very tactile creatures.

Eventually he manages to gain control of his breathing before he slips into a full on panic attack, and when he looks up he's met by shoulder-length chocolate brown curls and wide whiskey eyes. Her rounded cheekbones are rosy, and she smiles at him, revealing a set of pearly white teeth and dimples. She's beautiful, like an angel he thinks, and there's something extremely comforting about her presence.

Somehow, once he's calm, they end up having a conversation about family; Derek tells Mrs. Stilinski (_"oh please, call me Claudia"_) about the new pack babies, the development of the toddlers, and Cora's first shift. In return, Claudia talks about her nine year old son, Stiles Stilinski, and her husband John Stilinski; she enthusiastically talks about John's career, reminisces animatedly about how she met him, and warmly gushes about the pride she felt, bringing Stiles into the world, and about his hyperactive ways and his cheeky little grins. They move on to talking about school and test papers and Derek's fifteenth birthday, even though it's just over three months away.

By the time they're finished, school is out and Claudia isn't even apologetic for distracting him from two lessons.

"You needed to relax," She tells him with a wink, and hands over her personal number, "Laura has my number too, so I figured there's no harm in giving you mine as well. Don't tell the school, obviously. You Hales are a special exception," There's another wink, and on anyone else two winks in under a minute would look ridiculous, but not on Claudia, "Call me if you need anything, Derek. Don't be stranger. You're a wonderful boy." With that, she wraps a scarf around her neck and heads to the elementary grounds to pick up her son from his last class of the day. Derek looks at the slip of paper in his hand and smiles a little bit, keying the number into his phone and tucking the piece of paper into his jeans pocket.

**August 21****st****, 2007.**

Stiles Stilinski is as hyperactive as Claudia promised Derek he would be, but Derek can't find it much in him to care. The boy's energy is endearing, to say the least, and he finds that he doesn't mind answering Stiles' babbling questions about being a "teen wolf" – yes, apparently the entire Stilinski family knows of the supernatural, and apparently Stiles is also going to grow up to be a Spark. It's bizarre, Derek thinks, just how many supernatural creatures there are, and yet humans still seem to think it's all myth and folklore.

If there's a grain of truth behind every lie, then surely there's a grain of truth behind every myth.

"How old are you?" Stiles asks, knees digging into Derek's thigh. He's almost on top of him, one of the sofa cushions being squeezed tight in Stiles' arms and against his lap.

"I'm fifteen next month," Derek answers. He smiles at Claudia when she wanders past the doorway with a steaming pot of casserole for the dining room table, and she smiles back.

"That's so cool!" Stiles beams, "I can't wait to be fifteen. Fifteen year olds get to do stuff. I wanna do stuff. I'm not even ten yet, not until Halloween."

"Your birthday is on Halloween?" Derek asks, surprised. Stiles' grin, if possible, grows even wider.

"Yes!" He screams, "Isn't it so awesome?!" Ouch, Derek thinks, ears ringing.

"Stiles, kid, leave Derek's poor, sensitive ears alone and go help your mother set the table," John Stilinski appears in the doorway. Stiles huffs and puffs but he goes to help his mother anyway, and Derek gives John a grateful smile.

"Nice to meet you at last, Derek," John says, shaking Derek's hand with a firm, confident grip, "I've heard a lot about you."

"Not all bad, I hope," Derek offers with a small smirk. John tilts his head and makes a calculative little noise, before breaking out into a smile.

"I like you, kid," He decides, clamping a firm hand on Derek's shoulder. "Now c'mon, Claudia makes the best casserole."

**October 18****th****, 2007.**

Derek gets bad again. The nightmares come back at full force, and the entire house wakes up most nights to Derek screaming. No one knows what's brought on the relapse, just that it's horrendous and heartbreaking and horrible and Talia is so fucking lost, so God damn helpless. She doesn't know what she's supposed to do, or where she's supposed to go. She calls Claudia one day, and the woman comes over to the house and tries to talk to Derek. Derek doesn't say anything – that's never happened before. He does hug her though, silently, for two hours.

Then, because someone up there is having a laugh at her son's expense, Derek's best friend dies in a car crash and Talia has never seen her boy as small and fragile as on November 1st, when he'd tucked himself in the corner and whispered about the deaths of his first love and his best friend happening in the exact same month, then shrunk in on himself and cried silently the entire night.

**November 23****rd****, 2007.**

It's the one year anniversary of Paige's death.

Derek doesn't leave his room for the entire day, and Talia and David suddenly become overwhelmingly worried when Derek's heart rate picks up and the scent of blood and his pain spikes the air. They rush up to his bedroom and burst in, finding Derek screaming silently in his sleep while he claws the veins in his wrists and forearms.

They wake him up, and there's a lot of tears and sobbing for the rest of the night.

In the morning, Craig makes everybody a fry up and Alicia goes out to the really nice cafe in town and brings back everybody's favourite orders. It's not a magic healer, and it doesn't make last night go away, nor does it make Derek any happier; but it makes him less distraught than he'd been last night, and it makes everybody feel a little more comfortable.

Later on that night, Derek whispers to Laura how much he feels like a burden, and Laura shakes her head, hauls him close, and lists off hundred of reasons why she loves him and why he could never be a burden.

**December 31****st****, 2007.**

The McCall's are Stilinski family friends; Scott McCall is Stiles' best friend, and Melissa McCall has been friends with Claudia since they were children. The Stilinski's are invited to the McCall's New Year's Eve party, and the Hales are invited by association.

Derek meets a girl there called Jennifer. She's a year older than Derek, and she's not interested in a relationship; neither is Derek. They dance together, and somehow manage to slip away without being noticed, and Jennifer sucks him off behind a tree in the McCall's back garden, swallows it when he comes, and Derek's eyes flash with desire when he sees her smear the come she couldn't swallow across her throat, as if she knows who he is, what he is, and knows exactly what something like that could do to him. He lets out a growl, yanks her up, wraps her legs around his waist, and thanks the heavens he decided to bring a condom. They kiss hard and hungrily with a burning desire to just fuck, to take and claim and have, to leave marks, to forget themselves. Derek's hard again within minutes, after he's fucked her with his fingers and made her orgasm twice. There's a purpling hickey blossoming over the pulse in her neck. When Derek fucks her, it's rough and raw and exactly what he needs, what they apparently both need, and when he bites her shoulder, hard, she climaxes for a third time, and the clench of her muscles around him sends him over the edge, and he comes for a second time.

Afterwards, when she's pulled down her skirt and he's re-buttoned his jeans, they make out for a little longer before returning back to the party. He washes his hands in the kitchen sink and wanders back into the living room. Laura gives him a knowing look, and he'd completely forgotten that his pack would be able to smell it on him; they possibly heard it too, but he hopes the distance of the yard and the loud thump of music was enough to cover it.

His mother gives him an unimpressed look, but she's not disappointed in him. It's okay, he knows. He's fifteen years old, he was safe, and he's more mature than most boys his age. He knows what he's doing, so it's all okay, it's all fine.

When Stiles introduces his "best buddy in the whole entire universe of buddies, Scott", Derek shakes the boy's hand, smiles, and enjoys the rest of the party.

**February 19****th****, 2008.**

Michael shoots a hoop and misses, the ball bouncing off the rim. Sheepishly, he looks around to see if his girlfriend is still watching. She is. He sighs and Derek can't help but snort at the guy.

"Dude, relax, she's with you for your balls, not your ball skills," He smirks, Jaxon hooting with laughter next to him and offering him a high five. Derek takes it, and high fives Harry too.

"I really hate you, y'know that? You're a fucking prick," Michael pouts, throwing the ball at Derek's face. Derek catches it with a cocky grin and an eyebrow quirk, throwing it up towards the net without even looking and getting it in.

"You love me really, Mikey-wikey," Derek teases. Michael just glowers.

"Y'know, Hale, Natasha's been staring at you the whole time we've been here. I'm telling you man, she's got a thing for you."

Derek knows. He's been able to smell the lust coming off her whenever he's in the same room as her for weeks.

"I'm not looking for a relationship," He says curtly. Harry claps his shoulder with a solemn nod, doesn't push or say anything out loud but shows the he understands, that he knows and he's here for Derek. There's a reason Harry is his favourite out of all of these guys.

The ball park is really quite big, but Derek can still hear the girls' conversation.

"He's just so hot, I mean, God damn it, look at his ass," Kelly gushes.

"I know. I saw him without his shirt on last week, holy Jesus! How is he even real?" Natasha sighs. Chloe, Michael's girlfriend, smirks at Derek from where she's sat.

"It must be supernatural," She says with a little wink. Derek smirks, shaking his head. Chloe's known since last year, when she'd wound up in the middle of a territory dispute between his pack and a cocky, disrespectful new pack, the Blakemores.

"Guys, let's go eat, I'm starving," Jaxon whines. Everyone agrees that it's a good idea.

**March 30****th****, 2008.**

Derek hooks up with a guy the first time at Michael's sixteenth birthday party in one of the guest bedrooms. It's new, it's exciting, and Derek thinks, as he's fucking another guy with short dark hair, soft lips, hazel eyes and a lean body, that this is definitely something he could do again.

The next day, they go for coffee and brunch together. They laugh easily, and the guy, Jared, explains how he's leaving town tomorrow, and Derek tells him how he wasn't expecting a relationship anyway, and they have sex again, this time in Jared's bedroom, and then Derek kisses him goodbye and sets off on his way home.

"You smell like another man," Talia tells him when he enters the kitchen, "And you didn't come home last night." He's glad Laura is at college; she'd tease him mercilessly for this, call him a dirty little slut and tease him about hooking up and having a sleazy one night stand, even though he's pretty sure sex at a party followed by coffee and brunch and then midday sex before a smooth parting of ways isn't what you'd call a one night stand.

"I think I'm bisexual," Derek tells her. Talia nods and ruffles his hair, offers him a mug of coffee, and then they sit and watch Shrek with the kids in the living room.

**September 26****th****, 2008.**

Derek's sixteenth birthday starts with both of his sisters screeching and bouncing on his bed. Typically, Derek can already tell that today is going to be one of his bad days unless something miraculously awesome happens, which is fucking brilliant.

"Fuck off," He snaps; muffled by his pillow and the duvet he pulled over his head in some attempt of safety.

"Language," David scolds him. Derek sighs heavily, endures a little more bruising, before springing upright and knocking both sisters off of him, sending them flying to the floor with startled yelps and sore butts on impact. Okay, so maybe Derek's day isn't going to be bad; he smirks and shoves the covers back.

"Alright," He says, "I'm up."

A Hale family birthday ritual is height measurements.

"Come on," His father says brightly, sharpie already in hand, "Let's get you measured," He drags Derek by the wrist and slings him up against the doorway. Derek huffs at the aggressive manhandling, a fond smile taking over his face nevertheless. The rough housing started last year, when David realised his son was just as strong if not stronger than him and could more than take a few knocks and the occasional shove into a wall, and it's proved a mostly successful way to get Derek out of his funks. Deaton still supplies them with anti-depressants for him, Talia provides cuddles and kisses, Claudia counsels him, and David let's Derek take his anger out on him. It's a working system.

Derek straightens his back and stands to his full height, looking at his father who he's now level with. Their eyes meet and David grins, and Derek resists the urge to preen when he scents the pride rolling off of his father's scent in waves.

"Damn, Derek. You're now officially 6'0", buddy boy. Congratulations, you've matched me."

"Please don't ever call me buddy boy again or I swear to God I will disown you as a father," Derek groans, but he's grinning nevertheless. David simply cuffs him and lets Laura and Cora practically carry Derek out of his bedroom to the living room, where there's a sofa-full of presents and then two more rows on the floor – the perks of having a large pack, he thinks with a grin.

Derek gets a new phone, one with a camera, and some older, more mature clothes for his wardrobe, which is what he's been asking for since March two years ago; he also gets some art supplies – pens, pencils, watercolour paints, watercolour pencils, brushes, canvases, oil paints, acrylic paints, an easel – and the Placebo "Meds" album; there's also some new boxers and briefs, all of them Calvin Klein, and he gets a silver watch and a leather jacket. Laura bought him a new pair of converse and some smart loafers, and Cora got him some Joop cologne that Talia probably helped her pick. He also gets a new bedspread, curtains, a DIY wardrobe, shelves and drawers set, and three tins of dark red paint.

"You're growing up now, Derek, and you've matured faster than a lot of boys your age. You know what you want and you know how to get it, even if you need a little help sometimes; part of growing up is accepting that you need help, anyway. You're becoming a man, and it's time we let you be who you wanted to be instead of holding you off any longer, trying to capture the last moments of you as a child. We're really proud of you, Derek," Talia is holding back tears, Derek can tell. He goes up to her and wraps her up in his arms, tucking her head under his chin.

Later that week, Derek stands in his doorway and admires his renovated room. The walls are now a deep red, his bed sheets are sleek blacks and greys, his curtains are blackout curtains, and he has a bookcase as well as new drawers, a new wardrobe, and a reading lamp on his bedside cabinet. He has very few of his old toys, and they're kept under his new double bed. There are some posters of Placebo, Radiohead, Pink Floyd and The Killers on his walls, as well as some family photos and some Polaroids of him and his friends.

He looks in the mirror and takes a note of his body. He's tall now, and his shoulders are wide and strong, his chest broad and solid, and he has defined abs and a V-line, with a scattering of dark hairs on his chest and a thick trail of hair dipping into his waistband. His arms are long with bulking biceps, his legs are muscular and hairy, and he has large hands. His veins stand in relief against the tightly corded muscles of his forearms, and they rest under the dark hair. He's got nothing to hide in his lower regions; fairly well endowed he'd say.

His jaw has gotten sharper over the years, and now he has the ability to grow a five O'clock shadow, though it doesn't get much longer than that at the moment. His eyebrows are thick and dark, like his hair, and they accentuate his pale eyes.

He looks like a man. He feels like a man. His room is grown up, and his clothes are fashionable. He's wearing a tight fitting black Henley with some tight dark Denim jeans, with his silver watch and his leather jacket, and he smells like cologne and shower gel, not teenage boy sweat or cookies.

With a grin to himself, he takes his anti-depressants and goes downstairs to his family again. They whistle when they see him, and there are lots of pictures taken, and then there's the family dinner. His sixteenth birthday is undoubtedly the best birthday he's ever had.

Later, when it's just gone six O'clock and his pack are finally willing to let him out of their clutches and free to be with his friends, he hugs Laura tight and she clings onto him in turn, tells him how proud she is, how she can't believe he's become the man he has when she still has memories of him being a stroppy little nine year old that shifted accidentally over a basketball. He laughs, does _not_ get choked up, and kisses her cheek before leaving.

Michael, Jaxon and Harry are waiting for him at the edge of the preserve, and he grins when they all start singing happy birthday, loudly and awfully. They go into the town for a movie and then pizza, and when they leave the restaurant it's really dark outside, and it's nine O'clock.

"Fake IDs, anybody?" Michael grins, producing four fake IDs and handing them out in turn. Derek grins, doesn't bother asking how Michael got such a recent photo of him, and they all head to Jungle because his friends have decided that him being bisexual means they should set him up with as many dudes as they do girls; but secretly they also love the nightlife here, and the attention.

Three hours later, and it's no longer Derek's birthday. It's ten minutes past midnight, and he's quite tipsy – his pack neglected to mention that tipsiness is a thing for werewolves when they do ten rounds of shots one after the other alongside constantly refilling pints of beer.

He giggles to himself as he floats down from the kerb and onto the road, giddily making his way back through the town to get to the preserve and go home.

"Excuse me, can you help me?" A serene voice asks. Derek whips around and comes face to face with a stunning woman; she's all dark blonde hair, sexy eyes and perfect smiles with killer curves and one hell of a dress sense.

"Of course," Derek sputters, wondering what the odds are that she wants him to fuck her, or eat her out, or let her give him a blow job. Slim, he thinks, but it's nice to dream.

"I was wondering if you could show me the way to my friend's address, once I find it," She laughs, sounding a little embarrassed, as she roots through her jeans pockets. Derek's tipsy, and this woman is sex on legs, and he's having a hard time concentrating on anything right now but the shape of her lips and the way her hands graze her own thighs and ass as she looks for whatever she's kept her friend's address on.

"I'm Derek," He says dumbly. The woman laughs, a pleasant, throaty sound that makes Derek shiver.

"Nice to meet you, Derek," She grins, and if Derek were completely sober he'd notice the sadistic edge to it, "I'm Kate."


End file.
